Which is fine by me.
Just to note for the record: while this is very true, I’d also like to note that the man being quoted here voluntarily participated in a naval war against the USA, which was frankly just about as stupid.
Via theblogprof, who is actually talking about something else entirely (H/T: Instapundit).
I’m not sure it was entirely voluntary.
“For the first year I will run amok in the Pacific. After that, I promise nothing.”
He did what his country needed from him.
He didn’t have a lot of options. Given the Japanese political mess at the time, he probably couldn’t have prevented a war, and so he did the best he could to give his country time (and a strong position) to negotiate a peace. It wasn’t a great solution, and he knew it, but sometimes the best you can manage is pretty crappy.
Which is an important lesson to keep in mind sometimes, if you think about it. James T. Kirk might be able to cheat his way out of a “Kobayashi Maru” scenario, but mere mortals often have more stringent limitations.